God is a God of abundance, not a God of scarcity. Jesus reveals to us God’s abundance when He offers so much bread to the people that there are twelve large baskets with leftover scraps, and when He makes His disciples catch so many fish that their boat nearly sinks. God doesn’t give us just enough. God gives us more then enough; more bread and fish than we can eat, more love than we dared to ask for.

God is a generous giver but we can only see and enjoy God’s generosity when we love God with all our hearts, minds, and strength. As long as we say, “I will love you, God but first show me your generosity,”we will remain distant from God and unable to experience what God truly wants to give us, which is life and life in abundance.

No amount of work, discipline or moral behavior can save us. If a person were counting on finding favor with God by being circumcised, they would also have to obey the rest of God’s law completely. Trying to save ourselves by keeping all God’s laws only separates us from God. We are saved by Faith, not by deeds. But love for others and for God is the response of those whom God has forgiven. God’s forgiveness is complete, and Jesus said that those who are forgiven much love much (Luke 7: 47).Because faith expresses itself through love, you can check your love for others as a way to monitor your faith.Trying to be saved by keeping the law and being saved by Grace are two entirely different approaches. (Gal.5:)

Paul criticized the judaizersbecause they looked at Christianity backward - that what they did (circumcision, cuttingor mutilating the flesh) made them believers rather then the free gift of grace given by Christ. What believers do is a result of faith, not a prerequisite This had been confirmed by the early church leaders. Who are the juduizers of our day? They are those that say that people must add something else to simple faith. No person should add anything to Christ’s offer of salvation by grace through faith. It is easy toplace more emphasis on human effort than on eternal faith, but God values the attitude of our heart above all else. Don’t judge peoples spirituality by their fulfillment of duties or by their level of human activity. God notices all you do for him and will reward you for it, but only if it comes from a loving response to his free gift of salvation. (reference Philippians 3:1-3)

God said that he had abandoned Israel for a brief moment, so the nation was like a young wife rejected by her husband. But God still called Israel his own. The God we serve is Holy and he cannot tolerate sin. When his people blatantly sinned, God in his anger chose to punish them. Sin separates us from God and brings us pain and suffering. But if we confess our sin and repent, then God will forgive us. Have you ever been separated from a loved one and then experienced joy when that person returned? That is like the joy God experiences when you repent and return to him.God made a covenant of peace with the people of Israel that the time would come when he would stop pouring out his anger on them, he would teach their citizens and give them prosperity.(reference Isaiah 54:1-13)

Everyone needs a certain amount of approval from others. Those who look to God for approval won’t need to envy others. Because we are God’s sons and daughters we have His Holy Spirit as the lovingguarantee of His approval. Seek to please God, and the approval of others won’t seem so important. (reference Galatians5:25–26)

No Christian should ever think that he or she is totally independent and doesn’t need help from others, and no one should feelexcused from the task of helping others. The body of Christ-the church–functions only when the members work together for the common good. (reference Galatians 6:1-3)

In our fallen world, disease and disability are common. What ever the cause of our illness, we can trace its original source to Satan, the author of all the evil in our world. The good news is that Jesus is more powerful then the devil or any disease. He often brings physical healing in this life: and when He returns, He will put an end to all disease and disability. Jesus knew He was on his way to die, but He continued preaching to large crowds. The prospect of death did not deter Jesus from His mission. Although many people know something about God, only a few have acknowledged their sins and accepted His forgiveness.(reference Luke 13:16-25)

In the church of Paul’s day, immersion was the usual form of baptism; that is new Christian’s were completely “buried” in water. They understoodbaptism to symbolize the death and burial of the old way of life. Coming up out of the water symbolizedresurrection to new lifewith Christ. If we think of our old, sinful life as dead and buried,we have a powerful motive to resist sin. We can choose to treat the desires and temptations of the old nature as if they were dead. Then we can continue to enjoy our wonderful new life with Jesus. (see Gal. 3:27 and Colo. 2:12 and 3;1-4 for more info on this concept).

Sometimes it is difficult to forgive those who wrong us. Imagine how hard it would be to forgive all people, no matter what they had done.

This is what God has done in Jesus. No one, no matter what sin has been committed, is beyond forgiveness. All a person has to do is turn from sin, receive Christ’s forgiveness and commit his or her life to him.

How can you be sure that you belong to Christ?This passage gives you two ways to know. If you do what Christ says and live as Christ wants. What does Christ tell us to do? John answers in 3:23. Believe in the name of his son, Jesus Christ and love one another. True Christian faith results in loving behavior, that is why John says that the way we act can give us assurance that we belong to Christ.

In order to be savedby the law, a person would have to live a perfect life, not sinning once. One reason the law was given was to show people how guilty they are (Gal 3:19). The law was a shadow of Christ. So that when the true sacrifice came, they would be able to understand his work. (Heb.10:1-4). The system of ceremonial laws was to last until the coming of Christ. The law points to our need for a savior. Christ has provided our salvation through His incarnation (God in human form) and resurrection. God’s salvation is right in front of us. All we need to do is respond and accept His gift of salvation. If we believe in our heart and say with our mouth that Christ is the risen Lord, we will be saved. We must take God’s great message of salvation to others so that they can respond to the good news.

Christians are brand new people on the inside.The Holy Spirit gives them new life and they are not the same anymore. We are not reformed, rehabilitated, or reeducated, we are recreated (new creations), living in vital union with Christ. At conversion we do not merely turn over a newleaf, we begin a new life under a new Master. There is a new covenant a new perspective, a new body, a new church. Itrequires a new way of looking at all people and all of creation(reference 2 Corinthians 5:17).